Atlantis Dive Resorts
Registered
Atlantis Azores Captain’s Report February 17 – 27, 2014
Weather: Breezy early in the trip, flat calm, light winds for most of the rest of the time… “Perfect” weather!
Water Temp: 26-27oC/ 79-81oF
Bohol Itinerary
After a month of maintenance on the mooring in front of Atlantis Resort Dumaguete, it’s time to get underway! This trip has been booked by “ISAM”- the “International Association of Aquatic Medicine”. Spearheaded by Dr. Bridget, the “diving docs” as their website calls them, (I guess I don’t have to ask if there’s a doctor onboard now-ooh ha ha) have been here before! -Twice to be exact - and our extended voyage (new to me) is familiar to most of them. Our itinerary takes us far removed from our usual 7-day locale around Bohol. We’re circumnavigating the entire island of Cebu, a distance of more than 300 nautical miles in 10 days. The weather forecast is looking good and I’m excited!
Monday: The group arrived a day early to sample the local dive sites before our departure. They enjoyed the amenities of the resort, as well as terrific “muck diving” right there off the mooring for the day, and managed to shake off their jetlag in the hot tub!
Tuesday: We headed out early and got that month-old growth off the bottom of the boat as we set our course for Sumilon Island, a distance of about 16 miles. Upon arrival (daybreak) the guests grabbed their snorkels and jumped in the “speedboats” and headed off to see the Whale Sharks at a spot called Oslob, a place famous for these gentle creatures. Good viz and calm conditions made for some nice photos and video as I noticed when they returned. The rest of the day we enjoyed calm, sunny conditions at sites around Sumilon. We departed right after dinner for our 35 mile run to Moalboal (we went real slow and got there just at daybreak).
Wednesday: We picked up our guide “Ben Jim” before light and dropped in at Pescador Island for the first three dives. A lunchtime transit to a leeward anchorage was where we spent the afternoon/overnight with dives up along a wall adjacent to some beachside resorts. Some local girlfriends of Dan Dan’s came out to the boat peddling their wares (trinkets!) and Ann Marie picked up some nice Batik lampshades for her patio back in Phoenix.
Thursday: We got in the water early to catch the “Sardine Run” at the previous afternoon’s site. It was something right out of “Blue Planet” with small tunas rushing up from the depths to engage the mass of baitfish. Dives two and three were “encore” dives at Pescador Island, by popular demand, before heading north for a long leg (95 mi.) to Malapascua.
Friday: Daybreak found me creeping into Malapascua Bay, as I hadn’t been here before. A beautiful Island, Malapascua took a beating from Typhoon Yolanda last fall, and it was evident by all the tattered palm trees and big boats washed way up onto the shoreline. Lots of newly installed roofs though were evidence that recovery is in full swing. We settled in at our mooring on the NW side of the island and enjoyed a variety of dive sites that were remarkably untouched by the past weather, including a much talked about night dive where the elusive Mandarin Fish were spotted by Sue, Mike and Bridget.
Saturday: We headed out early for Gato Island; a big rock a few miles NW of us. What a rich dive site! Twinkle and Bridget both commented that they could dive the same area all day. But we stayed just until lunchtime, allowing ourselves time to get back for a much anticipated dusk dive at Malapascua to catch the hot ticket of the evening - Mandarin Fish Romance! (photo)
Sunday: Today is a special day, we’re headed to Monad Shoal to try and catch a glimpse of the world famous Thresher Sharks that inhabit this area. I got lucky and found perfect conditions just before daybreak as we descended to the top of the shoal at 60’ and worked our way down to 90’ and saw THRESHER SHARKS! I counted four that made numerous passes. A thoroughly successful dive that this group rightly deserved, as their last time here was uneventful. We did one more pass at Malapascua on our way down the west side of Cebu Island towards Calangaman Island for our afternoon foray. A very picturesque island! Expected to see the “castaways”- Mary Ann and the professor! We lay in on the leeward side and did two dives there (including a mini land excursion) before heading still further south to our next destination of Cabilao Island.
Monday: We reached Cabilao Island right at daybreak and had the divers in the water by 7am. This area supports many great wall dive sites and we sat here all day, including the night dive.
Tuesday: We found ourselves at Balicasag Island for the first two morning dives, lots of turtles and wall diving! At 11:30am we departed for Panglao so some of the guests could meet the awaiting land transportation for a trip to see the Tarsier monkeys, old churches and Chocolate Mountains. The rest of the group dove areas around Olano Beach resort for the afternoon and evening.
Wednesday: By popular vote, we re-dove Balicasag Island again today. This time encountering the vast school of Jacks this place is famous for, as well as the BIGGEST black Frogfish I’ve ever seen. We hit the road after lunch for our 30 mile run back to Atlantis Resort where our 10-day odyssey concluded. Everyone was in agreement that the trip went well, great weather, great friends, and “great crew”- made the ten days just fly by. Hopefully this bunch will decide to do all of this again with us very soon as we, the crew, all had a great time with ISAM - and thank you Mike Lyons for the great log pics!
Capt’ Todd
Weather: Breezy early in the trip, flat calm, light winds for most of the rest of the time… “Perfect” weather!
Water Temp: 26-27oC/ 79-81oF
Bohol Itinerary
After a month of maintenance on the mooring in front of Atlantis Resort Dumaguete, it’s time to get underway! This trip has been booked by “ISAM”- the “International Association of Aquatic Medicine”. Spearheaded by Dr. Bridget, the “diving docs” as their website calls them, (I guess I don’t have to ask if there’s a doctor onboard now-ooh ha ha) have been here before! -Twice to be exact - and our extended voyage (new to me) is familiar to most of them. Our itinerary takes us far removed from our usual 7-day locale around Bohol. We’re circumnavigating the entire island of Cebu, a distance of more than 300 nautical miles in 10 days. The weather forecast is looking good and I’m excited!
Monday: The group arrived a day early to sample the local dive sites before our departure. They enjoyed the amenities of the resort, as well as terrific “muck diving” right there off the mooring for the day, and managed to shake off their jetlag in the hot tub!
Tuesday: We headed out early and got that month-old growth off the bottom of the boat as we set our course for Sumilon Island, a distance of about 16 miles. Upon arrival (daybreak) the guests grabbed their snorkels and jumped in the “speedboats” and headed off to see the Whale Sharks at a spot called Oslob, a place famous for these gentle creatures. Good viz and calm conditions made for some nice photos and video as I noticed when they returned. The rest of the day we enjoyed calm, sunny conditions at sites around Sumilon. We departed right after dinner for our 35 mile run to Moalboal (we went real slow and got there just at daybreak).
Wednesday: We picked up our guide “Ben Jim” before light and dropped in at Pescador Island for the first three dives. A lunchtime transit to a leeward anchorage was where we spent the afternoon/overnight with dives up along a wall adjacent to some beachside resorts. Some local girlfriends of Dan Dan’s came out to the boat peddling their wares (trinkets!) and Ann Marie picked up some nice Batik lampshades for her patio back in Phoenix.
Thursday: We got in the water early to catch the “Sardine Run” at the previous afternoon’s site. It was something right out of “Blue Planet” with small tunas rushing up from the depths to engage the mass of baitfish. Dives two and three were “encore” dives at Pescador Island, by popular demand, before heading north for a long leg (95 mi.) to Malapascua.
Friday: Daybreak found me creeping into Malapascua Bay, as I hadn’t been here before. A beautiful Island, Malapascua took a beating from Typhoon Yolanda last fall, and it was evident by all the tattered palm trees and big boats washed way up onto the shoreline. Lots of newly installed roofs though were evidence that recovery is in full swing. We settled in at our mooring on the NW side of the island and enjoyed a variety of dive sites that were remarkably untouched by the past weather, including a much talked about night dive where the elusive Mandarin Fish were spotted by Sue, Mike and Bridget.
Saturday: We headed out early for Gato Island; a big rock a few miles NW of us. What a rich dive site! Twinkle and Bridget both commented that they could dive the same area all day. But we stayed just until lunchtime, allowing ourselves time to get back for a much anticipated dusk dive at Malapascua to catch the hot ticket of the evening - Mandarin Fish Romance! (photo)
Sunday: Today is a special day, we’re headed to Monad Shoal to try and catch a glimpse of the world famous Thresher Sharks that inhabit this area. I got lucky and found perfect conditions just before daybreak as we descended to the top of the shoal at 60’ and worked our way down to 90’ and saw THRESHER SHARKS! I counted four that made numerous passes. A thoroughly successful dive that this group rightly deserved, as their last time here was uneventful. We did one more pass at Malapascua on our way down the west side of Cebu Island towards Calangaman Island for our afternoon foray. A very picturesque island! Expected to see the “castaways”- Mary Ann and the professor! We lay in on the leeward side and did two dives there (including a mini land excursion) before heading still further south to our next destination of Cabilao Island.
Monday: We reached Cabilao Island right at daybreak and had the divers in the water by 7am. This area supports many great wall dive sites and we sat here all day, including the night dive.
Tuesday: We found ourselves at Balicasag Island for the first two morning dives, lots of turtles and wall diving! At 11:30am we departed for Panglao so some of the guests could meet the awaiting land transportation for a trip to see the Tarsier monkeys, old churches and Chocolate Mountains. The rest of the group dove areas around Olano Beach resort for the afternoon and evening.
Wednesday: By popular vote, we re-dove Balicasag Island again today. This time encountering the vast school of Jacks this place is famous for, as well as the BIGGEST black Frogfish I’ve ever seen. We hit the road after lunch for our 30 mile run back to Atlantis Resort where our 10-day odyssey concluded. Everyone was in agreement that the trip went well, great weather, great friends, and “great crew”-
made the ten days just fly by. Hopefully this bunch will decide to do all of this again with us very soon as we, the crew, all had a great time with ISAM - and thank you Mike Lyons for the great log pics!Capt’ Todd
